---
title: 'Before Spec Event | Cypress Node Events'
description: 'The before:spec event fires before a spec file is run in Cypress.'
sidebar_label: 'before:spec'
---

<ProductHeading product="app" />

# Before Spec Event

The `before:spec` event fires before a spec file is run. When running cypress
via `cypress open`, the event will fire when the browser launches.

## Syntax

<WarningSetupNodeEvents />

:::caution

⚠️ When running via `cypress open`, the `before:spec` event only fires if the
[experimentalInteractiveRunEvents flag](/app/references/configuration#Experiments)
is enabled.

:::

:::cypress-config-plugin-example

```js
on('before:spec', (spec) => {
  /* ... */
})
```

:::

<Icon name="angle-right" /> **spec _(Object)_**

Details of the spec file, including the following properties:

| Property   | Description                                                                                |
| ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `name`     | The base name of the spec file (e.g. `login.cy.js`)                                        |
| `relative` | The path to the spec file, relative to the project root (e.g. `cypress/e2e/login.cy.js`)   |
| `absolute` | The absolute path to the spec file (e.g. `/Users/janelane/my-app/cypress/e2e/login.cy.js`) |

## Usage

You can return a promise from the `before:spec` event handler and it will be
awaited before Cypress proceeds running the spec.

### Log the relative spec path to stdout before the spec is run

:::cypress-config-plugin-example

```ts
on('before:spec', (spec) => {
  // spec will look something like this:
  // {
  //   name: 'login.cy.js',
  //   relative: 'cypress/e2e/login.cy.js',
  //   absolute: '/Users/janelane/app/cypress/e2e/login.cy.js',
  // }
  console.log('Running', spec.relative)
})
```

:::

## See also

- [After Spec API](/api/node-events/after-spec-api)
- [Before Run API](/api/node-events/before-run-api)
- [After Run API](/api/node-events/after-run-api)
- [How to use Plugins](/app/plugins/plugins-guide)
- [Node Events Overview](/api/node-events/overview)
